“They dress the same,” Suit said.
“Could be a copycat,” Jesse said. “Could be on purpose to mislead us.”
“Or it could be him,” Suit said.
“Or it could be him,” Jesse said.
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Suit said.
28
“SO,” SPIKE SAID, “you two got anything going these days?”
“What we’ve got going,” Sunny said, “as you well know, is my ex-husband, and Jesse’s ex-wife.”
“It’s a start,” Spike said.
Jesse smiled.
“How are things with Marcy Campbell?” Jesse said.
The three of them were sitting on the deck of the Gray Gull as the sun set behind them, stretching the shadows of the boats at mooring toward Paradise Neck.
“Good,” Spike said. “She really likes you.”
“Everybody does,” Jesse said. “Is she finding you any property?”
“She doesn’t do commercial real estate, but she is co-brokering with a guy who does.”
“Find anything?” Jesse said.
He was drinking beer. Spike had a Maker’s Mark on the rocks. Sunny sipped some Riesling.
“Yep,” Spike said.
“You did?” Sunny said.
“Yep.”
“Well, where?” Sunny said.
Spike grinned.
“Right here,” he said.
“The Gray Gull?” Sunny said.
“Yep, soon to be Spike’s North.”
“My God,” Sunny said.
“Congratulations,” Jesse said.
“But you can’t call it Spike’s North,” Sunny said.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s the Gray Gull,” Sunny said. “It’s been here forever.”
“Or at least since you started fooling around with the chief,” Spike said.
“At least that long,” Sunny said. “The name’s got history. People will be mad if you change it.”
“Like I should care,” Spike said.
“Customers will be mad at you,” Sunny said.
Spike smiled at Sunny. She often referred to Spike as her “compliance consultant,” and Jesse could see why. He wasn’t unusually tall. But he had about him the massive shapeless force of a bear.
“Like, I do care,” he said. “How about Spike’s Gray Gull?”
“Ick,” Sunny said.
“Okay,” Spike said. “Gray Gull.”
“A proven winner,” Sunny said
“Sound right to you, Chief Jesse?” Spike said.
Spike’s receding hair was cut very close to his skull and his beard was trimmed short.
There was a shiny go-to-hell look in his eyes.
“ ‘Fooling around’?” Jesse said.
“Fooling around what?” Spike said.
“Sunny and I weren’t fooling around,” Jesse said. “We were serious.”
“Ah,” Spike said. “Excellent. If I weren’t gayer than laughter, I’d be serious about her, too.”
“Would you like to talk about me further?” Sunny said. “I’ll try to be quiet.”
“When I heard you were a private dick, I was hopeful,” Spike said. “But then when I met you my hopes were dashed.”
“Short for detective,” Sunny said.
